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Wednesday, August 7, 2013

ENK August Accessorie Circuit/Intermezzo Trade Show - A Paradise of All Your Favorite Brands

Yesterday I attended the ENK Accessorie Circuit/Intermezzo show at the Jacob Javits Center. ENK is the most buzzed-about trade show in the industry, and I can see why. With a sprawling floorplan of every exciting brand in retail, it's basically a fashion fan girl's heaven. This is where the magic happens - where the brands you love sell to buyers so you can shop them at the stores you love. The Accessorie Circuit features jewelry, handbag, shoe and soft accessory lines, while the Intermezzo features some of the most important ready-to-wear designers. There are 700 brands being featured all together - 700!

This show was special for two reasons: Fraiche Circuit and K-Fashion. For Fraiche Circuit, ENK hand-picked some of the most promising, innovative up-and-coming accessory designers. Sarah Magid, Hokum, Orly Genger by Jaclyn Mayer, Arielle de Pinto, Mani Maalai, Terracotta New York and Gracelette NYC showed off their incredible statement pieces, proving the exciting future of the accessories market. For K-Fashion, ENK teamed up with the Korea Fashion Association and Patricia Field(!) to bring the power of Korean Fashion stateside. Patricia Field curated and styled collections from Buckaroo Jeans, JESSI N.Y., UGIZ and Culture Call, exemplifying the undeniable cool factor of the Korean fashion industry.

I got to check in on some of my favorite brands at ENK, and perhaps even better - I got to meet a lot of new favorites. I'm so grateful I got to hit the floor at this show and discover some incredible lines - lines I know I will be shopping, like momentarily. So, here are the highlights of the show, but watch this spot for more posts highlighting some of these brands specifically!

One of my favorite discoveries at ENK: Pinkie Madison shoes. I NEED every single pair and I now you're going to, too. Pinkie Madison is the creation of legendary designer Beverly Feldman, so basically you know there's no way these shoes could be anything but feminine, glamorous, statement-making - but they've got such a cool twist. You can see a lot of natural inspiration in the resort shoes - coral reef, fruit, etc. - and then a downtown, rock-glam look for the fall collection. Plus, they're all made in Spain. Definitely stay tuned for a post all about Pinkie Madison, I want to show you every show you're going to need for resort and fall.

Glittered espadrilles!﻿

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The "Downtown Girl" looks for fall from Pinkie.

Another brand I was psyched to discover - Alex Woo. The tiny charms pack a punch - they're so sweet and delicate and understated, and yet so different and personal, ranging from sweet and playful to edgy. You can find everything from pretzels and palm trees to Buddhas and skulls, all created with 14-karat gold and conflict-free diamonds. You can shop themed collections - make sure to check out their MLB collection, officially the most stylish way I've ever seen to represent team pride. You might recognize Alex Woo's letter charms - her "C" charm is the one Anna Sophia Robb wears on "The Carrie Diaries," making it the Carrie necklace of the next generation.

I'd never seen these pop-bright pouches, wallets and totes from Lolo, which you can find at Nordstrom.

I thought I was over friendship bracelets until I saw these incredibly detailed, intricate, glamorous versions from Hipanema, available at Shopbop and Bloomingdales. One piece your wrist stack look is done. Details like tassels, crystals, chains, ribbons and shells make these unlike any friendship bracelet you've ever seen before.

Designer Sarah Magid was one of my favorites from the Fraiche Circuit. Magid has been designing for the likes of J.Crew, Henri Bendel and Etienne Aigner and you can tell - her collection, inspired by the "grit and glamour of NYC, modern art of the '60s and '70s, and the clashing prints her Jewish Grandma used to wear," is so different and striking. Crafted with semi-precious stones, these pieces stand out in a clean, modern way.

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Our Story

We are Sutton and Astor Van Brigsby. We were born and raised on Park Avenue, a mere hop, skip and 30-second ride with our driver, Morton, from Fifth Avenue. Oh, yes, there was a time when our daily shopping trips were what chick-flick montages were made of – sales assistants scurried at our beck and call, we did lots of twirling in front of fitting room mirrors without spilling our glasses of champagne, and doormen helped Morton help us into the car with stacks of hatboxes – which had shopping bags of clothing and shoes inside of them, because we’re not really into hats. But our designer RTW-filled reality came crashing to a traumatizing end when our father went ballistic one day – WHY we do not know – and cut up our credit cards. Apparently, it bothered him that we had spent his secretary’s annual salary in one trip to Bergdorf. He completely cut us off, I mean stone cold. With the exception of health insurance, cell phone bills, cable and electricity, we are COMPLETELY on our own. Left to our own devices to stay as well dressed as before but on a salary that doesn’t even compare to our past allowance. So, I, Astor, took a job in fashion and Sutton took a job in beauty. It is all we know and love, after all, and we figured that way we would have our bases covered with discounts – what else is a girl to do? If you’re like us, trying to keep a closet stocked with the kind of stuff Bill Cunningham will notice you in on a less-than-desirable salary, join us, won’t you? We’ll support each other, we’ll have cry fests over things we can’t have – and we’ll come up with ways to make the number of those things less and less by hunting sample sales, scouring the internet for discounts and even DIYing up our own versions. We WILL get through this together.